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Unincorporating Qualified Immunity, Teressa Ravenell
Unincorporating Qualified Immunity, Teressa Ravenell
Loyola University Chicago Law Journal
Scholars, judges, activists, and policymakers alike have criticized the doctrine of qualified immunity, which emerged in Pierson v. Ray to shield government actors from monetary liability in a wide range of suits filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, derived from the Civil Rights Act of 1871. These criticisms have ranged from the practical to the principled, but they largely ignore the question of statutory interpretation: is it valid to read § 1983, which makes no mention of any defense or immunity, as incorporating a qualified defense for government officials who acted in good faith and with probable cause? The Court …
The Common Prosecutor, Melanie D. Wilson
The Common Prosecutor, Melanie D. Wilson
Loyola University Chicago Law Journal
This symposium piece stems from the Loyola University of Chicago Law Journal's Criminal Justice Symposium and my engagement with a panel of experts discussing wrongful convictions, pleas, and sentencing. The essay focuses on the role of prosecutors and contends that the system will improve only when more law school graduates of every race, religion, gender identity, background, ideology, ability, sexual orientation, and other characteristics serve as prosecutors. We have witnessed the rise of the “progressive prosecutor.” Now, we need to add more “common prosecutors.”
The homogeneity of prosecutors is well known and well documented. For example, as of October 2020, …
The Real Mccoy: Defining The Defendant’S Right To Autonomy In The Wake Of Mccoy V. Louisiana, Colin Miller
The Real Mccoy: Defining The Defendant’S Right To Autonomy In The Wake Of Mccoy V. Louisiana, Colin Miller
Loyola University Chicago Law Journal
Defense counsel, and not the defendant, has the power to make most decisions in a criminal case. Until recently, there were only four decisions reserved for the defendant: whether to (1) plead guilty, (2) waive the right to a jury trial, (3) testify, and (4) forgo an appeal. In McCoy v. Louisiana, the United States Supreme Court recently added a fifth decision reserved for the client: the right to autonomy, i.e., the right to decide on the objective of her defense. Under this right, a defendant can prevent her attorney from admitting her legal guilt at trial by preemptively objecting …
The Inequity Of Third-Party Bail Practices, Judge Patrick Carroll
The Inequity Of Third-Party Bail Practices, Judge Patrick Carroll
Loyola University Chicago Law Journal
For many criminal defendants, a common source of bail funds is their own family or friends. Such individuals typically assist in the expectation that if the defendant complies with court orders and satisfies all court appearances, their money will be returned to them. In revenue-motivated court systems, however, bail funds--even when owned by a third party--are often applied to the defendant's fines and court costs, resulting in the effective forfeiture of the friend or relative's money. This Article reviews the processes of third-party bonds, the risk that a third-party bond will be incorrectly identified as the defendant's asset, and the …